I'm new here and I certainly don't want to upset anyone by being to vague or by being to lengthy, but let me see if I can describe my problem briefly and get some suggestions on 1) a course of study, 2) or a more direct answer about how to solve my problem....

I'm a novice but I do understand a good bit about the basics of the language. My problem is that I have a bunch of source code files that I want to be able to import into an IDE so that I can figure out what the author was doing by inserting breakpoints and playing with the code. The author of the code has provided the source free and with his blessing, but he has left the project far behind and would not be interested in helping.

I have installed NetBeans and Eclipse and even JCreator. NetBeans and Eclipse both fail to run the code after importing with a huge number of errors. If there is interest, I can provide additional information on the errors I'm getting, but due to the large number of them, I felt it would not be advisable to try to include them here. I figure I probably screwed up in importing the project and in no small part due to my lack of knowledge about how the whole process of building and compiling a project with a large number of files works. I've also wondered if since the code is a bit dated (2004), that may have something to do with the errors... I just don't know.

More Info if you like:
The java code has been compiled by the creator into a Windows executable file. It is a cryptogram solver (written by EOlsen) and runs very fast. (WinDeCrypto). I've written a solver in Perl and have worked extensively modifying a C# program written by a friend. They both work fairly well, but cannot come near the success level and speed of WinDeCrypto. There are things going on with this program that I just can't grasp at my current Java skill level. I'm heavy into solving cryptograms manually, but have become obsessed over the past few years with figuring out machine solving methods.

There are 18 files in the project directory and 24 files in 5 subdirectories so it's not a small project by any means...

Again... please don't be offended by my request. I know I've got a long way to go in learning what I need to know and I'm not looking for an easy answer, just some guidance and any help I can get.

Thanks in advance and I'm hoping I posted this in the right place...

Doug
:confused:

September 6th, 2012, 07:35 PM

jps

Re: Suggestions for IDE to use

Well first thing when dealing with a compiler is once the compiler has found one error, every following error is just a guess. Fixing one error can clear up hundreds of others. Can, not will. So listing them all would be pointless for the most part.

If I use an ide, it is usually eclipse. It really boils down to what you do and how you do it. This is better than that for this thing, and that is better than this for that thing... so try as many as it takes to make you happy.

If I was you I would import the src folder from the zip to eclipse and take it one step at a time. Look at the first error and determine what is wrong. Is there a problem finding an import? That can cause multiple errors throughout.
Imports all good? Move to the next thing. Step through the errors one at a time. If you don't know where to start try to compile and see what eclipse complains about first. If you do not understand the error or how to correct the problem post a question and maybe you can figure it out with a pointer in the right direction.

September 7th, 2012, 05:12 PM

dugglesmack

Re: Suggestions for IDE to use

Thanks!! I'll try to import the zipped file in Eclipse and see how it goes from there!